BIOGRAPHY

Ernest McMillan was a veteran human rights activist with a history of working through the 60’s in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and throughout the 80’s with the National Black United Front and the United League of Mississippi. McMillan served as the Chairman of the Dallas SNCC from 1967-1969.

He had extensive experience in counseling both youth and adults. Additionally, he worked successfully in management positions involved with the delivery of social services, organizing and planning resources, and coordinating activities to meet specific objectives. In 1984, McMillan founded the Fifth Ward Enrichment Program, a non-profit, community-based, youth development initiative. He served as its Chief Executive Officer, and after twenty-three years at the helm, he became its Executive Coach and Senior Adviser. The FWEP (now the UEI) Urban Enrichment Institute continues to operate in Houston’s inner city as an effective support and intervention system for young African American and Hispanic males to this day.

In Dallas, Texas, McMillan volunteered extensively with several local and international efforts, including the Dallas Peace Center, IFCO/ Pastors for Peace, and as a 2011 delegate to Witness for Peace’s Human Rights Delegation to Honduras. He became the Director of Educational Programs at Youth Believing in Change (YBC) and served as Curator for Community Action with Cara Mia Theatre Company, where he worked to connect arts with the community and develop avenues to foster and engage multigenerational, multicultural bridges for community uplift.